Highland Archive Service offers a range of activities and events for all ages across our four archive centres and online. Find out what’s on and how you can join in…
We do not charge for most of our activities and events, but Highland Archives Service is a charity and we rely on your donations to support our work. If you would like to make a donation to any of our archive centres, or our history and heritage website Am Baile, click on a button below to take you to our donation pages.
Thank you for your support.
What's On... August to December 2023

A History of the Charles Kennedy Building
- Wednesday 18th October 2023
- 2.30pm - 4.30pm
- Lochaber Archive Centre
- Free (donations welcome)
- Booking is not essential
Lochaber Archive Centre is delighted to host this presentation by Ken Johnston as part of our first Archive Afternoons session. Ken, a regular user of our archives and the former Head of Planning for the Highland Council in Lochaber, will be delivering his presentation on the history of the Charles Kennedy Building.
There will also be a display of items from our collections on the theme of ‘Buildings and Built Heritage’.
For further information please call Lochaber Archive Centre on 01397 701 942 Archives or email us at [email protected]

Talk: The War to End All Wars
- Monday 13th November 2023
- 7pm (UK time)
- Online
- Free (donations welcome)
- Booking via eventbrite (link below)
The events of 1914-1918 were to change the world forever. Join High Life Highland’s Family Historian, Anne Fraser, and Archive Community Engagement Officer, Lorna Steele-McGinn, to learn about the impact on the Highlands. Using original archive material we will look at the way lives and landscapes were changed, and will focus on some particular case studies of Highlanders at war.
The talk is free of charge but you must book in advance. Click here to book a your place via eventbrite.
For further information or if you experience any issues trying to book, please contact Highland Archive Centre on 01349 781130 or email at [email protected]

Archive Afternoons
- Monthly from the 18th October 2023
- 2.30pm - 4.30pm
- Lochaber Archive Centre
- Free (donations welcome)
- Booking is not essential
From the 18th October onwards, the Lochaber Archive Centre will be launching its own monthly Archive Afternoons. These afternoon’s will give the public the opportunity to learn something new, chat with staff and other visitors, and interact with our collections in a fun and informal atmosphere.
Everyone is invited to come and explore the fascinating history of Lochaber and its surroundings.
For further information please call Lochaber Archive Centre on 01397 701 942 Archives or email us at [email protected]

Archive Afternoons
- Every Wednesday
- 1pm - 4pm
- Nucleus: The Nuclear and Caithness Archives
- Free (donations welcome)
- Booking is not essential
Joint the archive team at Nucleus: The Nuclear and Caithness Archives every Wednesday to explore the past, reminisce with friends and enjoy a cuppa and a biscuit. Each week archives from our collections will be on display in the public searchroom.
Everyone is invited to come and explore. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available in The Hub at the front of the building, alongside displays of digitised vidoes and photographs showing Caithness in the past.
For further information please call Nucleus: The Nuclear and Caithness Archives on 01955 602 444 or email [email protected]
Online Exhibitions
Our online exhibitions are curated by our archive teams from all four archive centres. Using our rich and varied collections, the exhibitions cover an array of topics from The Battle of The Braes to the history of modern education in Scotland. To explore our online exhibitions click on any image below.
Regular Features

Learn With Lorna
Learn With Lorna, our series of short films about the documents in our collections, is broadcast weekly on Facebook with all films subsequently made available on the High Life Highland YouTube channel.
All the films to date can be found here.
- Every Thursday
- 11am - 12pm
- Online (see any of our Facebook pages)
- Free (donations welcome)
- Booking is not required